When and Why Defaults Influence Decisions: A Meta-Analysis of Default Effects
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When people make decisions with an implicitly or explicitly pre-selected option — a “default” — they are more likely to select that option. Because defaults are effective and easy to implement, they are a widely-employed tool of choice architecture. However, some recent studies question the effectiveness of defaults. We meta-analyzed 71 default studies and find a considerable influence of defaults on choice (d=.59, CI95%=[.45;.74]); on average, defaults increase option selection by 23%. But this analysis also reveals substantial variation in default effectiveness. We propose that the influence of a default varies by (1) how many psychological mechanisms defaults activate and (2) the intensity and distribution of decision-makers’ preferences. In sum, defaults are an effective policy tool, but need to be applied thoughtfully to better leverage their effectiveness.
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